The Choice
by RedPandaPrincess
Summary: Seven of Nine is faced with an impossible choice. Will she really do whatever it takes to save the life of her captain? And will Janeway forgive her if she does?
1. Chapter 1

When Seven of Nine opened her eyes she experienced 2.3 seconds of disorientation. She was not in her alcove in the Cargo Bay aboard the Federation Starship Voyager. She was in a small, dark room with a dirt floor. Her ocular implant allowed her to see, even in total darkness. She could see that she was alone. That alone was enough to make the former drone feel panic.

She tried to stand but a sharp stab of pain caused her to fall to the ground with a cry of surprise. She ran a self-diagnostic and discovered the source of her pain was a bad sprain in her ankle. Not broken at least. Her nanoprobes could repair a sprain much quicker than a break, though it would still take some time.

She moved carefully and leaned back against the wall, her legs straight out in front of her while she waited for her nanoprobes to repair the damage. The diagnostic had also revealed several bruises along her ribs and back. She had been in a fight. So why couldn't she remember anything?

Her internal chronometer told her it was 03:00 on stardate 54714.2. She remembered stepping out of her alcove and recording her daily log on stardate 54713. They were in orbit around an M-class planet inhabited by Species 6123, the Kryll. They were a reptilian-like species, covered in dry scales. They had yellow eyes with slit-like pupils. Seven knew from her knowledge from the Collective that they made hardy drones, capable of going long periods without regeneration.

They had seemed like a friendly species, willing to trade with the Voyager crew. The chief had invited Captain Janeway to dinner in his palace and Kathryn had invited Seven to come along. Since she wasn't taking any security with her, Seven had agreed. Although she wasn't good at social situations, especially ones that required diplomacy, she did enjoy spending time with her captain.

The very last thing Seven remembered was Kathryn encouraging her to try the wine. Everything after that was blank. So where was Kathryn? What if she had been killed? The thought made Seven feel panic again.

 _No_ , she told herself. _Captain Janeway cannot be dead. She would have found a way out. She always does. And if she got away, she will come back for me. She should not, but she will. She always does._

She felt her heart rate return to normal and she exhaled slowly. As long as her captain was okay, she didn't really care about anything else. Not even herself.


	2. Chapter 2

Hours passed and Seven just sat while her nanoprobes repaired the damaged ligaments in her ankle. She observed the cell around her. It was a 10x10 foot room. No windows. Only one door. The walls were composed of a hard stone she did not recognize. She could not penetrate it, even with her Borg hand.

The door opened suddenly. Seven did not try to stand, knowing her ankle would not support her weight yet. The man who opened the cell was Kryll.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Seven asked. The Kryll blinked at her with yellow eyes, giving no indication he had heard her. Then he stepped aside and a body was thrown into the cell right before the door slammed shut. A shock of auburn hair on a small body.

"Captain!" Seven cried, crawling to her side. For one heart-stopping moment Seven thought that Kathryn Janeway was dead. Then her enhanced hearing caught the faint heartbeat, the shallow ragged breaths.

Seven looked her over. They had stripped her down to her white cotton panties and sports bra. Her body was covered with dark bruises and cuts. There was a gash on her head that was wet with blood. Without a tricorder she couldn't be sure but she suspected the captain was bleeding internally.

"Oh Captain..." she murmured, stroking a lock of auburn hair from Kathryn's pale forehead.

For the next hour Seven sat there, stroking her unconscious captain's forehead. She felt helpless and it was not a feeling she liked. When her ankle could bear weight, she went over to the door and tried to open it. When that didn't work she began to beat on the door as hard as she could. It was made of the same hard stone as the walls and she could not make a dent in it.

"Hello! My captain needs medical attention! Please!" she shouted, knowing the whole time it was illogical and pointless. The aliens who had put them here, who had hurt her captain, were not going to help her now. But it made her feel like she was doing _something_.

"Seven?" a voice behind her croaked.

"Captain!" she said, dropping back to her knees beside her. Kathryn's gray eyes were open now, her pupils dilated.

"Where are we? I...can't see."

"You are not blind, Captain. It is dark. We are in a prison cell somewhere."

"Are you okay?"

"I am undamaged, Captain, but you are not. You have extensive injuries."

"I know, my head it..." Kathryn put her hand to her head and tried to sit up.

"Do not move," Seven said, putting a hand to her chest, then jerking her hand away when she realized she had touched the captain's bare skin.

"I remember...I was tied up. On a table. They were hitting me."

"What do they want with us?" Seven asked.

"I don't know. They were laughing and..."

Kathryn's eyes closed and she went limp.

"Captain!" Seven said, shaking her shoulder. Her gray eyes opened and she drew a shaky breath.

"You should not fall asleep, Captain. You may have a concussion," Seven said, trying not to sound scared.

Kathryn nodded weakly and took another deep, shaky breath.

"Seven?" she said after a minute.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Can you see?"

"Yes, Captain. My ocular implant allows me to see even in complete darkness."

"Am I...naked?"

"...They brought you in in your underwear."

Kathryn grimaced and crossed her arms over her chest. Seven quirked her ocular implant.

"Modesty is the least of our problems, Captain."

"You're right. I'm too tired to feel embarrassed anyway," she mumbled.

"...You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Captain," Seven said softly. "You are beautiful."

She looked down to see Kathryn's eyes had closed again. Seven sighed. At least she was still breathing. She decided to let her rest. She lifted the captain's head gently and placed it in her lap so she could stroke her hair more.

More hours passed and Kathryn did not wake up again. Her heartbeat got even slower and her blood pressure dipped dangerously low. Seven began to feel panic again. She went back to the door and yelled more.

"Hello! We need help! My captain is dying!" she said, pounding on the door. When she got no answer, she kicked the door in frustration. She kicked it several times, then turned back around and leaned against the door, frustrated. She was starting to feel tired too, her nanoprobes depleted from repairing her ankle.

A soft sound reached her ears and she realized it was Kathryn shivering, her teeth chattering together. Seven looked around desperately. There was nothing in the cell, nothing to cover her with, no way to keep her warm.

Not knowing what else to do, Seven lay on her side beside her. She pulled the shivering captain's small body close to her and wrapped her arms and legs around her. She _was_ cold. Her body temperature was down to 89 degrees Fahrenheit.

"It is okay, Captain," she said softly. "I have got you."

"Sev...Seven..." Kathryn whimpered, not fully conscious. "I think...I'm dying..."

"I am here, Captain. Just rest," Seven said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I will not let you die."

Inside Seven's heart was pounding and she felt sick. She knew her captain was dying. She was going to die if she didn't do something. Seven could only think of one thing to do but she could not...she could not, but she could not just let her die!

Kathryn's heartbeat slowed and she drew one last shaky breath. Seven put her hand to Kathryn's neck, feeling tears well in her eyes as she did.

"Forgive me, Captain," she whispered softly and inserted her assimilation tubules into Kathryn's neck.


	3. Chapter 3

A lifetime of memories swirled through Seven's cortical node. She saw Kathryn as a child, running through a field with another girl – her sister, Phoebe. She saw her graduate from Starfleet Academy. Saw her with a man she loved named Justin. Saw him propose. Saw her father and Justin, trapped in a shuttle, slipping below the ice while she tried to save them. She couldn't save them. She saw the Caretaker. The Ocampa. Kes.

Then she saw herself through Kathryn's eyes. Saw herself as a drone. Then afterward, when the Doctor was removing her implants. Then in the brig. Then a number of memories they shared and feelings so confused she weren't sure if they were hers or Kathryn's. Then there were memories of her regenerating, seen through Kathryn's eyes, and feelings so strong they took her breath.

Seven opened her eyes and gasped when she saw the captain's skin had turned mottled gray. When an implant appeared on her cheek, Seven scrambled away from her. She pressed her back against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut as tears leaked out.

She kept her eyes shut, even when she heard Kathryn start to move around. Then she heard her captain's voice in her mind.

 _Seven_?

 _I am sorry_ , she thought desperately. _I am so sorry, Captain, I am so sorry_.

"What did you do, Seven?" Kathryn asked allowed, her voice sounding strange from the vocal processor, not like her captain at all.

"I could not let you die," she answered softly.

 _I love you_ , she thought, knowing there was no way to stop the captain from hearing her thoughts.

They didn't speak again. They didn't have to. Seven could hear her thoughts, could feel them. Her horror. Disgust. Fear.

 _I am sorry_ was all Seven could think, trying to block Kathryn's fear of her from her mind. _I am sorry, I love you, I could not let you die._

Then the door burst open again. Seven jumped to her feet, reading to defend her captain from the Kryll. But it was not the Kryll. It was Tuvok and a security team, armed with phaser rifles. Seven heard several of them gasp as they saw the captain. Her Borg exoplating, her implants. She was a drone.

"Captain?" Tuvok said, sounding uncertain.

"Tuvok. Get me the hell out of here," Kathryn said.

"Get her to Sick Bay," Seven said. "The Doctor."

"Away team to Voyager," Tuvok said, tapping his combadge. "We have them. Beam us to Sick Bay."

When they appeared in Sick Bay, Seven stumbled slightly. Her nanoprobes were even more depleted now.

"Captain!" the Doctor exclaimed, immediately going to Kathryn with a tricorder. "Seven, what did you do?"

"What I had to," Seven said coolly, trying to sound calm when inside she was shaking.

"Get her away from me," she heard the captain say and it was like a knife to the heart. "Get her away from me and fix me!"

"Seven go and regenerate," the Doctor said, ushering her towards the door.

"I need to make sure Kathryn is okay-"

"Go!" Kathryn shouted.

"Go regenerate, Seven," the Doctor said again.

Seven turned on her heel and left Sickbay. She made her way to Cargo Bay 2 as quickly as she could without running. No matter how far she got she could still hear Kathryn's thoughts. Could still feel her fear and disgust.

She felt tears in her eyes again as she stepped into her alcove. She had ruined everything. Kathryn hated her now. The only person she had ever cared about hated her. Then the computer began her regeneration cycle and everything faded to black.


	4. Chapter 4

"Regeneration Cycle complete," came the computer's automated voice.

Seven of Nine opened her eyes and stepped out of the alcove. She had been regenerating for 48 hours straight and she was relieved to hear no one's voice in her head but her own. But she knew it had happened. She had a lifetime of Kathryn Elizabeth Janeway's memories stored in her cortical node. None of them were irrelevant. Not to her. She knew not the captain loved her. Or _had_ loved her. If she still cared she would be here now and she was not. She hated her. Because she was Borg and she had assimilated her.

Seven checked her console and found a message from the Doctor, telling her to stop by Sick Bay before she could return to her duties. She changed her biosuit and left the Cargo Bay.

Everyone she passed on her way to the Doctor avoided her but that was nothing new.

"Is the captain okay?" she asked the EMH as soon as she entered Sick Bay.

"Seven, how are you feeling?" the Doctor asked, picking up a tricorder.

"Is the captain okay?" she repeated impatiently, pushing the tricorder away.

"She's resting comfortably in her quarters. Now sit still and let me examine you."

"She hates me," Seven said softly, sitting on a biobed.

"You saved her life, Seven. Those aliens were going to kill you both."

"Why?"

The Doctor hesitated and continued scanning her without answering.

" _Why_?" Seven repeated. "They were going to trade with us, they were polite, why did they-"

"Because you're Borg," he said, putting down the tricorder. "Apparently they hold a grudge and when you showed up with the captain-"

"It was my fault?" she asked, standing up. "The whole reason we were there, the whole reason they hurt her was because of...me?"

"No, Seven, you can't blame yourself," he said, putting a hand on her arm. She pulled away from him.

"I have to go," she said coolly, hiding the emotion in her voice, and left.

She walked the halls of Voyager, not knowing what to do.

 _I am dangerous_ , she thought, distraught. _If I stay here, I am putting the whole ship at risk. I put the Captain in danger. I am Borg. I do not deserve to be here._

She had just made up her mind to take a shuttle and leave when her combadge chirped.

"Janeway to Seven of Nine."

Seven froze, right outside the doors to the Shuttle Bay.

"Seven, respond."

"...Yes, Captain?" she asked softly.

"Seven come to my quarters, please."

"Yes Captain. Seven out."

Seven looked towards the Shuttle Bay once more and sighed. She didn't know what the captain was going to say to her. Maybe she was going to tell her to leave Voyager.

 _I should leave not before she has a security team lock me in the brig_ , she thought miserably. Then she sighed again and walked back to the turbo lift.


	5. Chapter 5

When Seven pressed the door chime she heard her captain's voice say "enter". Her heart was pounding as she stepped through the doors. As the doors closed behind her she saw her captain, wearing her nightgown, sitting on the couch with a blanket covering her legs, a book in her lap. She looked exhausted, her face pale, dark circles under her eyes.

"Seven," Kathryn said softly and the blonde looked down at the floor.

"I am sorry, Captain. I...If you want me to leave Voyager, I understand. I am prepared to-"

"Seven, what the hell are you talking about?" Kathryn asked. "Come sit down."

Seven did not move or speak or look up. She squeezed her hands together behind her back.

"I'm not mad at you, Seven, please come sit down."

"You cannot lie to me, Captain, I heard your thoughts."

"I heard yours too. I'm sorry I was upset, please come sit down it's making my neck hurt to look up at you and honestly it already hurts from that damn spinal clamp."

"I am sorry," she said quickly, coming to sit beside her. "I did not wish to cause you pain. I never...I did not ever want to assimilate anyone ever again."

"I understand why you did it, Seven. You saved my life. You...I wanted to thank you. And to apologize that you were put in that position."

"Captain, I-"

"Seven please call me Kathryn. When you...did you see everything I saw? Everything I...felt?"

Seven glanced at her then quickly looked away and nodded.

 _You know how I feel about you_? Said the captain's voice in her head.

Seven looked at her in surprise.

 _Can you still hear me_? She thought and Kathryn nodded, smiling a little.

"The Doctor said it could take a few days to wear off. Chakotay and Tuvok have to double check my command decisions for the next few weeks, in case you have any residual influence over me – not that I think you would use it, but Chakotay insisted."

"I am sorry, Cap-Kathryn. I am so sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Seven," Kathryn said, reaching out to cover Seven's hand with her own. Seven started to pull her Borg hand away.

 _I don't hate you, Seven_ , Kathryn said silently.

 _But I am Borg_ , she responded miserably.

 _I hate the Borg, but I don't hate you, Seven of Nine. I love you_.

"I love you too, Kathryn," she said aloud and the captain smiled. She moved closer to Seven and kissed her gently. When she pulled away Seven was smiling too, a real smile.

"If I hadn't just been tortured, assimilated, and then de-assimilated I would show you just how much I love you but I'm tired, Seven, and I hurt all over. Can I just...lay my head in your lap?"

"Of course, Kathryn," Seven answered softly. With a soft sigh the captain lay down and Seven pulled the blanket over her.

 _ **I love you...**_

THE END


End file.
